


The Devil Wears Jumpsuits

by frostybutt



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Fun bonding time with sociopathic uncy Vlad, Gen, Intern AU, Other, The Devil Wears Jumpsuits, badger cereal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-28 21:36:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6346318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostybutt/pseuds/frostybutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny screwed up. (Big news I know.) It could have been worse, but actually having to work for extra credit wasn't what he had in mind when his teacher made the call. Now if you had the choice between scraping off grease from grills at a fast food restaurant or working for your arch nemesis who is coincidentally your fathers best friend from college, what would you choose?</p><p>This intern au started off as a fun idea and manifested with certain characteristics of the movie The Devil Wears Prada, so if you hadn't figured that out from the title before...eh. Don't be surprised to find references in here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

-

„That is hands down the worst idea you've ever had.“

Danny rolled his eyes, being already past the point of annoyance by now.

A simple argument he'd brought up over lunch had led to a major headache over the course of only a few minutes. All he wanted was their opinion on a crucial decision.

“What about the time he split himself in half.” Sam chimed in with a smug grin before Danny could even say anything. Sometimes it was easier to throw your hat in the ring before things could escalate.

“Nah, that was nothing against that one time he set you up as involuntary bride for a medieval power hungry dragon ghost king by 'accident'. Remember that one?”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me Tucker.” she picked a piece of cucumber out of her salad and flicked it across the table, targeting her cracking up friend and hitting Danny in the progress. And that was _it_.

“Guys, _I get it_! I've made bad choices!” he snapped louder than anticipated “Can we please get back to the topic? It's not like we almost wasted the entire lunch break making fun of my previous bad decisions instead of addressing the real issue.” Even though he'd lowered his voice to an aggravated hiss, most of the students around them had turned their heads to see what that fuss was all about.

At least it also got Sam and Tucker to stop laughing and focus. They exchanged a short glance and Sam turned her attention back to her salad. Let the boys handle that, it wasn't worth the headache.

“Danny, I really don't see why you're even considering this. It's just three weeks, I'm sure they won't let an intern do any hard work in a fast food restaurant. Besides, you could organize free grub for us!” Tucker shrugged apologetic, which earned him a frustrated groan from his friend.

“It was dad's idea. My biggest mistake was mentioning that I have to go through that stupid intern program to get used to become a well functioning part of society around him.” Danny muttered sour, poking the suspiciously gray mush on his plate with his fork. “Of course he would come up with the brilliant idea to set me up with his old college pal to get me into a high working position.”

Thinking about it, his dad had a point, no matter how much he loathed to admit it. Working for the mayor of Amity Park certainly looked better on a resume than a greasy stigma of scrubbing crust off grills at Nasty Burger. There was only one major problem about that dream position, he would have to work under his literal nemesis. But he didn't have the heart to tell his father that his best friend from college was...well. A slimy backstabbing up to no good piece of cheese. If you put it nicely.

Tucker noticed the grim expression on his best friends face and gently pat his shoulder. “You can't deny that he's right. As weird as it is to admit.” Danny only grunted with his focus on his plate and didn't shake his hand off, that was always a good sign. “Look at it that way. If you work with Vlad, you can keep a close eye on him. Maybe even browse through his files and see if he's got something saucy to hide and-” Sam very audibly cleared her throat before Tucker could go in a downright excited spree into the possibilities of other illegal activities. “Uh. Yes. As I was saying. You could use that opportunity to your advantage. Besides, Sam and I are always close by.”

Without even taking a bite of his food Danny kept on dissecting the mysterious mush in silence until the bell rang.

He had made his decision.


	2. Saturday

The heavy smell of slightly burnt bacon and eggs mingled with the scent of coffee and crisp toast. Danny muttered a curse under his breath as he sat the hot frying pan back on the stove after scraping the scrambled mess on three separate plates.

Saturday mornings were one of the very few occasions in which the Fenton family would gather to have breakfast together. Though technically, it was usually Jack who ate, Maddie who drank her black morning coffee with just a pinch of sugar and Jazz, nose often deep in a book, going on about something not even remotely interesting to Danny.

But since Jazz had left home to go to college, they all kind of did their own thing. After all Danny was 17 now and neither he nor his parents insisted on having meaningful conversations over breakfast. They got up on their own accounts, his mom sometimes not even going to bed Friday night when she worked on yet another science gizmo with her husband.

But today was different. Not just because Danny was miraculously the first to get up to make breakfast on top of that.

 

He hadn't even finished to set up cutlery when his mother rushed in the kitchen, all the while calling her husbands name and wielding the Fenton Extinguisher™ , stopping dead in her tracks surprised to find her son...cooking?

The surprise was mutual, the forks dropped clinking the last inch onto the table and bouncing right off the top.

“Uhm. Morning...Mom?” Danny offered with a crooked smile as he picked up the forks, eyes wandering from his mother to the heavy chrome machine she pointed towards him in alarm.

 

After a moment she sat the gizmo down with a relieved sigh and pecked Danny's forehead, delighted to find it wasn't Jack who caused that horrendous smell for once.

“Good morning honey. I'm sorry. I already thought your father had set the kitchen on fire again. You know how he is. Every ' _Jack, that gadget is still unstable_ ' is an invitation to prove me wrong and test it out on anything that resembles a ghost.”

She poured herself a cup of coffee, stirring the sugar in thoughtful while eyeing the spread.

“Is there a special occasion I should know about?”

 

Danny sat next to her, trying hard to maintain a positive attitude while finding the right words to explain his mother that he was on the verge of screwing up his future. His grades had never been the best to begin with, but as of lately he had reached rock bottom. And Mister Lancer's solution was a sort of...scholar program to earn extra credit. Forcing Danny to an internship in an institution of his own choice for three whole weeks. So far he'd only talked to his dad about it, but only because he'd coincidentally overheard a phone call with Sam. If it had been up to Danny, he would've let it slip and pretend everything was fine.

 

He reached in his jeans pocket to grab a crumpled piece of paper and slide it to her, biting down his lower lip.

“It's nothing bad.” he mumbled, watching as Maddie opened the letter and her eyes darted over it, eyebrows rising slightly with every sentence she read. “In the biblical sense at least. I mean. I got it under control. Dad and I already talked about it two days ago and we thought it'd be a good idea to uh. Set me up with Vlad. You know, since uhm...I'm not the only one who has to do that extra credit thing, Dash may have a scholarship for that college but-”

 

“Danny.”

 

He felt his face flushing when she interrupted him, her voice calm like it always was. She reached under the table to get a hold on his nervously fidgeting hands, cupping them softly. Danny didn't flinch, but didn't look at her either.

 

“You're 17, basically an adult. I thought you knew that you can talk to me about everything.”

 

Her tone was so warm and understanding, it was painful. Danny managed to make eye contact with her and shrugged apologetic.

“Sorry mom, I didn't have the chance to tell you until now.” Danny offered her a smile and Maddie returned it, apparently satisfied with that. She retrieved her hand from his and took another sip of her coffee. Good. The less they discussed that topic the better.

 

“So...you want to work with Vlad?”

Tough luck. Of course he wasn't off the hook just yet.

 

“I considered it. There weren't many alternatives.” he shoved a fork full of scrambled egg in his mouth and hoped it would be big enough of a sign to put the conversation on hold.

 

“Hm.” was her only reply to that, and Danny just _knew_ there was something she was holding back on the tip of her tongue. But before she could go on, his father barged into the kitchen and the topic was dropped.

 

Thank god.

 

-

 

Danny had managed to sneak around the house without bumping into his parents for the rest of the day, which wasn't too hard honestly. If they weren't in the basement to tinker, they were somewhere downtown to buy material or sell off some small successfully tested gizmos. But just when he thought he was alone at home, he heard a faint knock on his door.

 

“Honey, mind if I come in?” Maddie entered and closed the door before he could even protest. If mama wanted to have a word with you, she would.

The best you could do was pray she was in a good mood and smile it off. And that's what Danny did, turning in his computer chair to face her as she sat on the bed.

 

“You probably know what I want to talk about.”

 

The urge to roll his eyes was strong. But you didn't roll your eyes at your mom. Especially if she carried all kinds of weapons in her overall. So instead, Danny's smile froze as he simply said “Yeah, I guess.”

 

Maddie chew on her lip, a habit he knew too well. She was apparently just as uncomfortable talking about Vlad as he was. “Are you sure you want to work in the mayors office? You and I know if your father sets his mind on something it's hard to talk him out of it. But...”

 

“Mom, I'm 17. I made my decision myself.”

She squinted at him for a moment and sighed.

 

“Well, if it's what you really want.”

 

“You could say that.” he muttered under his breath. “Besides, he still has to agree to employ me as his intern. So nothing is set in stone yet. But at least it'd be better than wasting my time in a fast food shack, right?”

That only mildly satisfied her, but she nodded and got up the bed.

“That's very mature.” she ruffled his hair, grinning as he scrunched his nose, “I'm proud of you, no matter what Danny.”

 

He still had his eyes fixed on the door long after she left.

Wondering if he'd ever be mature enough to tell her the entire truth. But right now he had other things to worry about than his double life.

 


	3. Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the first annual awkward employment games. May the odds be ever in your favor.

-

“Danny, you're going to be late!”

Maddie called upstairs just as enthusiastic as Danny mustered to come down the stairs.

 

After an hour long argument about who would take him and what he should wear, Danny had at least talked his parents out of putting him into a suit and tie. Jack's alternative of a good old jumpsuit was immediately rejected from both Maddie and Danny, and they eventually negotiated and settled on a casual white shirt topped by a turquoise sweater, a light brown jacket and a pair of jeans that didn't have holes in it. Nothing too fancy and nothing too casual.

Sure, it was a job interview, in a matter of speaking; but the interviewer was an old friend of the family. Or at least...part of the family.

 

“Gee what an opportunity Danny!” Jack bellowed way more excited than his son and wife combined, steering the family van through the still rather empty streets. It was Maddie who had arranged the meeting, knowing that the chances to get it approved were better if it was her requesting it instead of her husband. None the less, as soon as it was obvious that it was supposed to be Danny who should meet up with the mayor, the friendly tone dropped below zero and the appointment had been set to 7.30am.

 

Danny squinted and scoffed at his father from the back seat with a dragged huff.  
“Yeaaaah. What a shot.”

 

Jack either didn't care or didn't hear his sons sarcasm, he cheerfully carried on to dwell in memories. “Boy, the things I'd give to work with V-Man again! If he set his mind on something, he wouldn't rest until it was done. Even missed parties for minor things like applications and exams!”

 

“He sure is dedicated.” Maddie added neutrally while staring out the window. She had insisted to take Danny to the meeting, even though he could have just taken his scooter. Why she had to turn it into a family outing was beyond him. Her official statement was that 'they had business to attend to anyway, so they could just as well take him'.

 

The moment the van parked in the lot next to the city hall, Danny was tempted to claim he had left his papers at home just to dodge the appointment. Now that he thought about it smelling like fry oil and getting covered in grease for three weeks didn't sound too bad. Why did he agree to this again?

“Thanks for the drive.” Danny sighed exasperating.

He took a deep breath and attempted to leave the car to just get it over with, when he felt a hand on his arm.

 

“It'll be alright sweetie.” Maddie gave him a pitying smile “He's not as intimidating as he seems.”

 

She closed the door behind him and waved as the van left the parking lot, leaving a puzzled Danny behind.

 

-

 

Amity Park was a pleasant quiet town, if it wasn't attacked by the living dead every now and then of course. But even that seemed way more appealing than what laid before him. Hell, he'd rather take down an army of his worst enemies than get up these steps right now. But unfortunately, not a single ghost made his appearance as he entered through the massive doors of city hall.

Apparently ghosts had a sixth sense like nosy parents and siblings, appearing only when it was inconvenient. Great.

 

Danny's thoughts trailed off as he made his way down the hallway without haste, not even noticing that no one beside him was present. He knew where he had to go anyway, it's not like he'd need anyone to ask for the way. He'd been in that office several times by now, both in his ghost and human form. None of these memories were pleasant.

 

Danny stopped in front of a double door. Mahagoni frame, elegant glass with delicate black vine patterns worked into it in the center. And a massive gold emblem of Vlad's initials highlighting the fact that this was in fact, the mayors office, right above it.

Of course.

As if the at least twenty portraits he'd passed on his way to that damn office weren't apparent enough already.

Before he could think twice about how absurd and messed up it all was, he inhaled sharply, put on his best fake grin and knocked.

-

“You're late.”

 

Vlad didn't even bother to look up from his newspaper as the boy entered his office. Not a single minute into this interview and Danny already wanted to beat the crap out of him. But he wouldn't give him the satisfaction to blow this opportunity up just because he got aggravated.

 

“I got lost in the art gallery on my way here.” he replied, still smiling that sickly sweet grin as he came closer to the desk. He could swear to see the corner of Vlad's lips twitch for the brink of a second, yet the newspaper was still more interesting than his appointment.

 

Danny sat right across Vlad, who's face got almost entirely covered by the news. The letters on the cover looked foreign. Cyrillic maybe? Where did he even get a Russian newspaper in Amity Park.

They sat in silence with the rustling of the paper and their breathing being the only sound in that huge office for a minute or two, until Vlad finally spoke up.

 

“So, what are you doing here?”

 

It came so sudden and felt so overwhelmingly loud that Danny flinched in his seat, only now noticing how tense he'd been.

 

“I uhm...I thought mom had told you about the details on the phone?” he stuttered legitimate confused, getting more and more unnerved as he stared at the unmoving paper in front of his face. “I really don't want to repeat it all over to you again. Could you-”

The paper rustled once more as Vlad turned the page.

“Oi, could you maybe at least pretend you care and put that damn thing down when I talk to you?”

His voice raised without intention, hands clenched into fists. He was that close to screw it and blast a hole right through to his thick skull.

 

Who would've thought, the paper actually _did_ move.

“There is no need to shout, Daniel. I'm sitting right in front of you.”

 

Oh for the love of god.

Vlad probably got some weird kick out of riling Danny up the wall, staying so unceasingly calm while the boy was close to explode. He inhaled sharply and straightened in his seat.

Danny watched as the other put his morning literature down in front of him, revealing an unusually bright outfit. The traditional white shirt was replaced with a bordeaux one, coated in a snow white two piece suit. But most unusual of all, no tie.

 

“Now I'm going to repeat my question. What are you _doing_ here?”

Somehow it was more unnerving to have Vlad staring at him directly than being faced by a piece of paper.

 

Danny released his breath in an agonized groan. He was too tired for games like this.

“Dad thought I would do a great job as your assistant for some reason.”

 

Vlad didn't do as much as blink at the mentioning of Jack, he seemed more unnerved about something else.

“So you're doing what daddy told you to do.” he said dry, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

 

“I- no! It was _my_ decision.”

 

The older man cocked a brow and leaned further back in his armchair.

 

“Look. It was either wasting my time at the grills in Nasty Burger or...”

 

“Trying your luck with me, because I'm your parents old friend.” he finished Danny's sentence, who looked at him with a gasp.

“You have no interest in politics. You have no style. No sense for business...”

 

“Ah- well. That's debatable.” Danny snorted, coming to the conclusion that it was pointless to try and stay polite at that point.

 

“No. No, my boy. That wasn't a question.” Vlad lowered his glasses just enough to peek over the edge, making him look like even more of an asshole. If Danny's cheeks were flushed before from sheer frustration, they were by now glowing in fury. “The real question is, why in the world should I hire someone who appears late to an appointment, shows neither respect nor interest in the actual job or his employer?”

 

That...threw Danny off completely. He felt his stomach dropping.

“Because I _need_ this internship.” he admitted, feeling more uncomfortable than he'd ever felt in his entire life. “I'm sorry for lashing out earlier. I might not be able to graduate if I don't get the extra credit for this and I'm just...” he sighed deeply, “I'm really stressed out, okay.” By now he was desperately hoping that obnoxious box ghost would break through that door and give him some sort of excuse to get out of here. But of course nobody came.

 

A heavy silence fell over the two of them, in which Vlad watched the teen closely and Danny preferred to stare at his hands rather than face his opponent. He could hear rustling and assumed Vlad had gone back to reading his god damn newspaper again, when he saw a small business card sliding over the table top.

 

“That's the address of my tailor. Get your measurements done and come back on Wednesday for a fitting, 8am sharp. I can't have you running around in...this.”

 

“What?”

 

“Do I have to spell it out for you.”

 

“No. No I got it.” Danny blinked dumbfounded, gaze wandering from the business card up to Vlad, who's face had the same neutral expression from the beginning again.

 

“Good. Then I'll see you on Wednesday. Don't be late.”

And with that the wall of newspaper was rebuilt. Apparently the talk was over.

 

Danny waited for another minute, staring puzzled at that small card that had nothing but an address in Amity Park and a last name on it, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. But after realizing it was unlikely to get any sort of explanation out of that guy, he mumbled a quick “Thanks?”, grabbed his bag and left city hall.

 

While starting his walk home he thought about taking a detour to stop by Tuckers place. Or maybe take a short trip to the ghost zone to find some excitement. Anything to get his mind off...this. But before anything, he pulled out his phone and typed in a quick message to his parents to let them know

_“I guess I got the job??”_

 

 

 


End file.
